"If the emperor says so." Yin Xiulan leaned on the backrest of her chair and crossed her hands on top of her chest. Her face wears an indifferent expression.

Yin Wenyan also speaks with a hint of sarcasm, "Then his majesty choose the political side. Not bad. Actually, either way, is not that bad if it's the emperor who chooses."

Yin Renshu felt insulted and wronged. His face turn ashen but remained silent. It seems he got something to say but he's holding it back.

Zhao Yangguang noticed the dark cloud surrounding them. He laughs softly, trying to lighten up the mood. "It's getting late. Why don't we all take some rest first? I'm worried, we must be all exhausted. We will continue this matter the next day."

"Shizun is right. And besides, it's shizun who used too much spiritual powers today. There is no need for you to worry." Yin Wenyan finally smiled but for some reason, his eyes are still a little sad.

Yin Xiulan raised from her seat. "I will order the maids to escort Shizun and Wang-shifu to their rooms. Shizun, Wang-shifu, this way please." The three of them left the hall first. Only the two identical men left at the round table.

"What happened? You act strange." Yin Renshu couldn't keep the matter to himself. "The incident at the town square didn't make you all gloomy, did it?"

Yin Wenyan looks at his twin with a pair of phoenix eyes that seem to glitter the moment the moonlight reflected on them. His face is unusually dead serious.

"Are you making things hard for Xu Zhengming?"

Yin Renshu got taken aback. "That eunuch?" He thought, so that eunuch being sick actually made his brother upset and anxious?

"He didn't do much in the first day serving the emperor. In fact, he leisurely strolled around the palace with our wife. Wenyan, eunuchs don't have that much time in their hands but look at him. Now he's lying on the bed in the emperor's hall. Isn't he getting too much privilege?"

The usually collected Yin Wenyan gritted his teeth. "How could you say that? He's sick!"

Yin Renshu, "I was the one who hired him, why are you acting as if your old nanny got mistreated by me?" He massaged his temples. "Now you're giving me a headache." The tension building up between the two makes him feel the dizziness again. He also noticed that tonight is too cold for him. He slightly shivered.

"You got a headache?" Yin Wenyan seems to have something in mind. He put his palm on his twin brother's forehead. Yin Renshu got a fever too. "Your temperature is higher than normal."

"Ah? It is? I think I'll be fine after a good night's sleep." Yin Renshu was about to leave but Yin Wenyan stopped him.

"You two got a fever at the same time. Was it because of the rain earlier?" Yin Wenyan almost whispering in the air. "Or did you two consumed something? A fever will occur whenever a person's antibodies are having a hard time."

"Shut up, you speak like an old physician. You make me feel even dizzier." Yin Renshu offhandedly said.

"Which one is it?" Yin Wenyan asked, completely ignoring the other's complaints.

"Well, he got rained earlier but it must be not enough to make him sick like that. But he ate my unfinished lunch. I bet he ate a lot. I left him more than a half of the whole portion." Yin Renshu replied.

Yin Wenyan grabs both Yin Renshu's shoulders and shakes them. "There's something in the food? It might be poison! You didn't have it tested by the court lady beforehand?"

"She did have a spoonful. What the hell Wenyan! Don't shake me, I'm going to throw up!"

Yin Wenyan indeed stopped.

He thinks deeply. He secretly peeps outside where Court Lady Han is. The court lady is completely fine. She only got a spoonful to taste the food. Yin Renshu on the other hand got less than a half and he got a fever. Meanwhile. Xu Zhengming fell really sick after eating more than a half.

Yin Wenyan rise from his seat and headed to the door. "I'll be staying at the emperor's hall tonight. You stay here."

Yin Renshu is leaning on the round table. His head was buried in his arms and didn't bother to rise. "Fine, fine. I don't feel like walking around anyway."

Yin Wenyan didn't bother to look back at his sick brother. He immediately left the hall and headed to the emperor's hall together with a set of maids following behind him.

There is a bed in the hall. Although the one present in the place isn't as big as the one in the emperor's hall. One of them sleeps here every three nights after the other's scheduled time. Yesterday was the third day for Yin Wenyan but the two agreed that he'll have the hall for the fourth night.

When Yin Wenyan arrived at the hall, Xu Zhengming is still deeply asleep. His eyes shut tightly, making his discomfort obvious. His forehead is still too hot to the touch and is shivering. Yin Wenyan pulls the thick blanket up to the eunuch's shoulder. This made him eventually stop trembling.

The court lady announces from the outside of the wall. "Your majesty, the royal physician has come."

"Please let him in." Yin Wenyan responds.

The doors slide open and the royal physician walks in.

"Greetings, your majesty. This physician has come." The royal physician bows his head to pay his respects.

"Mn. Please take a look at him."

"Yes, your majesty." The royal physician headed to where Xu Zhengming is lying down.

However, he pauses when he sees his face. He looks familiar to him.

Another moment passed and he finally recalled where he saw this man. This is the man who ran away from the royal infirmary yesterday! He actually became his majesty's eunuch!

The royal physician got a cold sweat. It was him who will most probably have to take the responsibility if ever the emperor knows that this man didn't get castrated.

Yin Wenyan noticed the fear in the old physician's face. He became even more anxious. "Royal physician, is his condition really bad? I assume, my eunuch consumed poison. When will he get better?"

The royal physician got his composure intact again. He then feels Xu Zhengming's pulse and checked his temperature. He said, trying not to let his voice tremble, "Your majesty, his life is not in danger however, he isn't in good shape at all." The old man opened his box and took some long and slender needles. "I will apply acupuncture on him. This should help him feel better by tomorrow." 

Yin Wenyan walks back and forth, "Tomorrow? He's not getting better any time soon?"

The physician replies, "It seems he consumed a lot of poison, your majesty. Please give him some time to recover."

"I understand. Please do everything you can."

"Yes, your majesty."

The old physician started to put needles on Xu Zhengming's specific parts. The process didn't take too long and the old man leaves as soon as he finished it, leaving the needles on Xu Zhengming's body.

Yin Wenyan sat on the edge of the bed. He stared at the man's face. He looks like he's feeling better now and his facial muscles are finally relaxed. He brushes the tips of his fingers across Xu Zhengming's forehead to sweep off some strands of his hair that somehow cover his face.

Yin Wenyan thought... someone tried to poison the emperor. This incident isn't new to the imperial palace. But the timing is a little suspicious. Is it just a coincidence that someone wants to poison the emperor today? Or is it a part of a plan of someone who knows that chaos was about to break out?

Is he thinking too much or do the two incidents really connect to each other?